Author's Note:
Hey, guys, so as you noticed... this episode is more or less a retelling of the first Shrek movie with some of my own twists added in. I tried to get the dialogue and action as accurate as much as I could but sometimes some of the scenes are so fast paced that it's hard to process it all at once. Anyways, I hope that you like this chapter and I'll have another one out very soon. Depending on what else I decide to add, there's going to be at least another chapter or two left and after that I'll be moving on to the next episode, which will be featuring Courage the Cowardly Dog. However, it's going to take me a little while to figure out what the plot is actually going to be.
Song Credit: Misty by Johnny Mathis
Chapter 3
The next morning, the gang set off on their journey as they headed off to the distant mountains where the tower was. As they ascended up the mountainside, Rhonda couldn't help but notice an odd smell in the air.
"Is that brimstone? That smells just like brimstone…" she muttered.
"I think so too, Rhonda," Katie nodded as she also sniffed the air.
"Nah, I don't think so; that isn't no brimstone," Donkey shot back abrasively.
"And how would you even know that, Donkey?" Rhonda snapped.
"Look, kid, I know my stones and that ain't no brimstone!" Donkey scoffed disdainfully while glaring at her pointedly.
"Knock it off, you two; we need to keep moving," Julie scolded them sternly as she walked off.
Then as they got to the top of the mountain, they were astonished to see that the tower was surrounded by a huge body of boiling lava with a rickety old bridge just ahead. The skies were also ominously dark and grey with vultures hovering around the tower. Rhonda felt the color drain out of her face as she nearly fainted at the sight.
"Sure it's big enough, but look at the location!" Shrek laughed with a big grin.
"Are we in hell? Because it definitely feels like we're in hell," Rhonda stammered fearfully.
"All that's missing now is Lucifer menacing us with a pitchfork," Jasmine retorted sardonically.
"Come on, children; we better hurry," Julie said as she led everyone over to the bridge.
"Um, Shrek… remember when you said that ogres have layers? I have a bit of a confession to make…" Donkey interjected as he also trailed after Shrek with a trepid and consternated expression on his face.
He then stopped for a moment to see a skeleton lying just a few feet away from him and he let out a terrified yelp before dashing off. However, Jasmine walked over to the skeleton and examined it curiously for a moment.
"Bad luck there, fellow," she said before she walked off.
"You see, I'm afraid that donkeys don't have layers; we actually wear them on our sleeves," Donkey continued to ramble on nervously with a frown.
"Wait a second, donkeys don't have sleeves!" Shrek protested.
"Oh you know what I mean!" Donkey insisted with his ears folded against his head.
"Oh, you can't tell me that you're afraid of heights!" Shrek scoffed with an eye roll.
"No… just being a little uncomfortable about being on a rickety old bridge on a boiling lake of lava!" Donkey grimaced as he glanced down fearfully at the lava.
"Don't worry, Donkey; I'll be right here beside you for a little emotional support," Shrek tried to reassure Donkey as he then nudged him right onto the bridge. "We'll just tackle this thing together one baby step at a time."
"Really?" Donkey whimpered.
"Really, really," Shrek nodded. "Just keep moving, and whatever you do, don't look down."
"Okay… I'm not looking down; I'm not looking down… I'm not looking down…" Donkey murmured to himself as he tried to keep his focus on the road ahead of him.
Rhonda and the rest of the gang followed Shrek and Donkey as they proceeded to tiptoe slowly on the bridge, taking great care to not lose a single step.
Meanwhile, the Super League of Villains was concealing themselves on the top of the mountain as they were watching the heroes cross the bridge and advancing closer to the tower.
"We must be getting close; however, we cannot let those fools be one step ahead of us," Jafar growled.
"I know one way to help us even the score," Mother Gothel smirked evilly as she took out a squirming rat in her hand. "This should provide us with a suitable distraction."
She then placed the rat on the ground and watched it scurry away to the bridge. "Now run along, my little pet."
Then as the heroes continued to walk through the bridge, they suddenly felt something small and furry skirt right through their legs.
Rhonda then let out a blood-curling scream as many of the kids started shrieking and yelling in terror.
"There's something on my leg!" she screamed.
"Me too!" Maxie wailed.
"I don't want to look!" Yuki shuddered, recoiling in disgust.
"Oh my God, a rat! Kill it Donkey, for the love of God!" Julie cried, cowering at the sight of the rodent while grabbing onto Doug tightly.
Donkey then tried to stomp on the rat as the rat darted and evaded his hooves swiftly. Then as he attempted to crush the rodent once more, one of the small boards gave way and collapsed as it soon tumbled into the lava below.
"Shrek, I'm looking down! AHHHH!" he yelled as he raced over to Shrek and turned around to face him with a panicked face.
"Please let me off here right now!" he begged.
"But you're already half-way!" Shrek retorted sternly.
"I want to go back to the other side where it's safe!" Donkey wailed, completely overwhelmed with panic and fear.
"It's okay, children; there's nothing to be afraid of. It's all right," Doug tried to calm the frightened kids as they were all screaming and wailing at the top of their lungs.
"I want to go home! I'm scared!" Lucas cried.
"I don't want to die!" Cassie wailed as she and Mariah hung on to each other.
"It's okay, guys; I got you, okay? Nothing is going to happen as long as I'm around," B.J. tried to reassure Lucas and Maxie as she held them tightly in her embrace.
"Get it together, you guys! The faster we get off this bridge, the better off we will be!" Shirley barked sternly. "The longer we stay here, the more likely that this bridge is going to collapse on us!"
Meanwhile, Jeannie was watching the commotion on the bridge from afar as she was debating on whether or not she should even do something.
Why the hell do you even care? It's not like they're even your friends anyway!
Rhonda is my friend… I care about her… I don't want anything bad to happen to her…
Pathetic… you shouldn't waste your time on that worthless little brat… She has the kind of life that you should have had… Two parents, a loving family, and lots of loyal and devoted friends… as a matter of fact, your mother loves her more than she has ever loved you…
"Shut up, that's not true!" Jeannie screamed at the top of her lungs, seething.
"Hey, Jeannie, you okay?" Riku frowned as he walked over to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Riku; just leave me alone," Jeannie snapped with a dirty look.
"Okay, I was just asking," Riku held up his hands defensively before walking away.
Jeannie then sank to the ground as she clutched her head tightly while squeezing her eyes shut and breathing heavily.
"I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy…"
"Argh, I don't have time for this!" Shrek groaned exasperatedly as he then grabbed both sides of the bridge and started to swing it wildly.
"No, no, Shrek! No, no! Don't do that!" Donkey pleaded as the bridge continued to swing and sway wildly, prompting the kids to start screaming loudly again.
"Oh… this?" Shrek smirked derisively as he swung the bridge hard to the right once more with his weight.
"Yes, that!" Donkey yelled back.
"Yes? Okay then," Shrek's smirk widened as an idea came to him and then he started to swing the bridge roughly once more.
"No, Shrek no! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!" Donkey wailed as he started to walk through the bridge backwards with his eyes closed.
The kids then continued to scream and wail hysterically while clinging to the adults around them, with Lucas and Maxie huddling close to B.J., Tommy, Yuki and Shirley huddling close to Andrew, Rhonda, Katie and Luthor huddling close to Rebecca, and Cassie and Mariah huddling close to Marni.
Esther was also embracing Jasmine tenderly as they moved slowly through the bridge while struggling to maintain their balance.
"Don't be scary, honey; I'm with you, okay?" she cooed softly.
"But I'm not scared, Mother," Jasmine replied while gazing up at her mother earnestly.
Esther just smiled and pressed her head against hers, nuzzling her. "I know that you're trying to put on a brave face for me, darling. It's okay to be scared."
"Father always says that we should be brave in the face of danger and not run from it," Jasmine replied in a quiet voice.
Esther nodded understandingly as she stroked her hair gingerly, still cradling her.
Finally, the heroes made it to the end of the bridge as Donkey opened his eyes and realized that he was on the other side, safe and sound.
"I'm okay… I'm okay…" he breathed a sigh of relief as Shrek walked right by him and petted him on the head.
"That'll do, little donkey; that'll do," he murmured softly.
"Let's go, everyone," Esther announced as she and the others followed Shrek.
The moment that the gang entered the tower, however, they were shocked at how truly decrepit and rundown it was. Yuki then examined her surroundings closely as she noticed that there were several piles of rubble lying around and the entire place appeared to be deserted and empty.
"Wow, it feels like no one has been in here for hundreds of years," she said.
"Are we absolutely sure that the princess is even here?" Shirley frowned.
"How are we ever going to find her in this place?" Maxie frowned.
"Look, over there!" Cassie beamed as she pointed at an extremely tall tower that appeared to have a light on.
"Huh, I guess now we know where the princess is," Shrek shrugged as he glanced over at the tower, wearing a full scale knight armor. "But where is that…?"
"DRAGON!" Donkey yelled shrilly as he saw a strange green eye poking out of a massive hole in the wall.
He then dashed away in a panic just as a huge burst of flames whizzed right behind him and moments later, a large, ferocious dragon crashed through another wall as it let out a vicious roar.
"RUN!" Agent Hawthorne yelled as the heroes ran for their lives.
The dragon then let out another loud, thundering roar as it spewed another burst of flames.
"Donkey, look out!" Shrek yelled as he pushed Donkey out of the way and soon received the brunt of the flames, just as the heroes barely managed to duck for cover behind the walls.
"What are we going to do now?" B.J. whimpered fearfully.
"We're going to have to find the stairs somehow and get away from that dragon," Mitchell replied as he then drew out his gun and started to walk away.
"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going, mister? Are you out of your damn mind? There's a ferocious dragon out there that will eat us all if given the chance!" Agent Forsythe yelled shrilly with a bewildered expression as he watched Mitchell cock his Desert Eagle and examine it intently.
"I'll take my chances," Mitchell replied stoically, not even looking at him. "Agent Forsythe, get everyone else to safety."
"Hold on, man; let me come with you," Andrew proposed as he quickly rushed over to him.
Mitchell just stared at him quizzically for a moment as he considered his proposal. Finally he nodded and beckoned for Andrew to follow him.
"Try to keep up, yeah?"
Mitchell and Andrew then walked over to the dragon as the two men stared it down.
"Hey, you! You ugly, filthy beast!" Mitchell yelled boldly.
The dragon then turned around to face him with a nasty snarl, its eyes shimmering with rage.
"Go ahead and face me!" Mitchell declared as he pushed a button on his watch and then activated a full scale black body armor, complete with retractable shields on both of his wrists and a translucent silver visor on his face.
He then gets into a fighting position as he spreads out his arms with his shields fully retracted.
"Fight me!"
The dragon then let out a vicious roar as it released a massive blast of flames at him, prompting Mitchell to deflect the flames with his shields. Then as the dragon kept on shooting out more flames at him, Mitchell kept on dodging and evading them with somersaults and rolls while deflecting and blocking some of them with his shields. Andrew then yelled out in surprise as he narrowly avoided being hit by the flames.
Mitchell then smirked as he took out a Poke Ball and tossed it into the air.
"Hitmonlee, go!" he cried as a red flash of light emerged from the Poke Ball and a figure appeared, revealing Hitmonlee.
"Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee growled, posing into a fighting stance.
"Hitmonlee, use Blaze Kick!" Mitchell exclaimed.
"Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee cried as he leaped into the air while aiming his blazing right leg at the dragon, hitting it straight in the face.
"Hitmonlee, use High Jump Kick!" Mitchell yelled.
"Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee growled as he then jumped into the air and lunged right at the dragon, delivering a powerful flying kick to the face.
The dragon then let out a high pitched whine as it stepped back and shook its head, dazed by the hit.
"Come on, let's go!" Agent Forsythe urged as he quickly led the gang out of their hiding place and headed straight for the nearby stairs.
Just then, the dragon quickly sensed that someone was standing behind it and it whipped around to see Shrek grabbing onto its tail.
"Gotcha!" Shrek cackled.
With the dragon now focusing its full attention on Shrek, Mitchell and Andrew seized their chance to get away.
"Come on, let's go!" Mitchell urged as he and Andrew raced up the stairs.
However, Shrek was no match for the dragon's brute strength as the dragon managed to spin Shrek wildly into the air with its tail before catapulting him straight into the direction of the tower. Shrek screamed at the top of his lungs as he flew straight into the tower and crashed into it, landing in the same room where Princess Fiona lay sleeping.
Meanwhile, the dragon was still attacking the tower as Donkey raced onto the bridge in a desperate attempt to escape. However, he was soon completely trapped as the dragon decimated the bridge by smashing it into bits with its tail and he was left to stand on a lone pillar. He then cowered and yelped in fear as the dragon loomed over him with a menacing and threatening snarl.
"No, no, no, no!" Donkey whimpered as he took a step back and nearly lost his footing as he jumped back to safety.
"Oh, what large teeth you have!" Donkey stammered nervously, earning a large growl from the dragon.
"I mean, white sparkling teeth. I know you probably hear this all of the time from your food but you must bleach or something cuz that is one dazzling smile you got there!"
This finally caused the dragon's face to soften as it offered him an enthusiastic smile.
"And do I detect a hint of minty freshness?" Donkey continued with a sheepish, timid grin, clearing his throat. "And you know what else? You know what else…"
He was then surprised when the dragon finally revealed its face from the shadows and batted its eyes at him coquettishly.
"You're a… You're a girl dragon!" Donkey gawked in surprise at her appearance. "Oh sure… I mean, of course you're a girl dragon cuz you're just reeking of feminine beauty!"
The dragon continued to smile at him flirtatiously while batting her eyes at him coquettishly.
"What's the matter with you? You got something in your eye?" Donkey frowned worriedly.
The dragon then blew a heart-shaped puff of smoke into his face, prompting Donkey to cough and gag.
"What in heaven's name is going on here?" Julie frowned as she and Doug watched from afar from one of the balconies.
"I have no idea," Doug shrugged as he glanced over at Julie.
"Yeah, this is getting kind of weird," Jeannie grimaced with a perturbed and baffled expression as she, Riku, Jen and Akiho were also watching from another balcony on the other side of the tower.
She then turned around to face Riku with a questioning face.
"Hey, who was that guy who was fighting the dragon with Andrew earlier anyway?"
"That would be my older cousin Mitchell," Jen interjected suddenly as Jeannie whipped around to face her with a shocked and astonished face.
"I didn't even know that you had a cousin," she said.
"Well, he hasn't exactly been part of my family for a very long time," Jen shrugged while examining her nails coolly. "He basically disappeared after my aunt and uncle died in a tragic, horrific accident."
"I'm sorry," Jeannie frowned sympathetically. "That must've been awful."
"Not really; they were traitors to my entire family as far as I'm concerned," Jen replied coldly with a disdainful and contemptuous look in her eyes. "They deserved to die."
"Okay…" Jeannie's voice trailed off as she exchanged mortified and apprehensive glances with Riku, with Akiho barely having any sort of discernable reaction except for a pensive and wistful expression.
"Man, I'd really love to stay but you know I'm an asthmatic and I don't know if it'll work out if you gonna be blowing smoke rings and stuff…" Donkey rambled while still coughing and grimacing nervously.
However, the dragon appeared to have other ideas in mind as she then bent down and grabbed Donkey by the tail as she carried him away back to her lair.
"Shrek! Shrek! Help! Help!"
"We better go find Shrek and the others; Donkey might be in serious trouble," Doug informed Julie as Julie nodded and the couple ran off to find the rest of the gang.
Meanwhile, Princess Fiona had awoken from her slumber as she watched Shrek regain his bearings and get back on his feet. After a few moments, she then lay back down and retrieved her bouquet of white flowers as she pretended to be asleep again.
Shrek then walked over to Princess Fiona and leaned down as Princess Fiona puckered her lips, expecting a kiss. However, she was suddenly jolted awake upon being shaken roughly by him.
"Wake up!" Shrek yelled.
"What?" Princess Fiona snapped irately.
"Are you Princess Fiona?" Shrek asked.
"I am…" Princess Fiona answered with a relieved face. "Awaiting a knight so bold to rescue me."
"Oh that's nice; now let's go!" Shrek insisted with an eye roll.
"But wait! Sir Knight!" Princess Fiona pleaded, sitting up in bed while holding up the bouquet of flowers as she then fell back onto her bed in a swoon. "This is our first meeting. Should it not be a wonderful, romantic moment?"
"Yeah, sorry lady; there's no time!" Shrek argued impatiently.
At that moment, Rhonda and the gang arrived as they stormed into the room.
"Hey, Shrek; did you find the princess yet?" Mariah bellowed.
"Oh my, you brought the cavalry with you, Sir Knight?" Princess Fiona gasped in surprise.
"Yeah… my cavalry…" Shrek laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and giving the others a dirty, pointed look.
"Um, Shrek, I really hate to intrude on this important moment, but Donkey's in serious trouble. He's been kidnapped by that dragon," Doug informed Shrek.
"And I have a feeling that she's intent on romancing him and sweeping him right off his feet," Julie added.
"Excuse me, Princess Fiona; you didn't happen to see a mystical inter-dimensional stone anywhere around here, have you?" Katie inquired curiously.
"No… not that I know of," Princess Fiona frowned as she then looked around for a moment and noticed something on her bed.
"Wait a minute…"
She then grabbed a pink stone with a red heart symbol and held it up as she showed it to the team.
"Is this what you're looking for?"
"Yes, yes it is," Esther nodded as she walked over to Princess Fiona and retrieved the stone from her.
"What stone is that, Director?" Maxie asked.
"This is the Love Stone," Esther Shirvani answered as she examined the stone closely. "It not only has the ability to show a person who their real true love is, but it is also said to bring a person back from the dead."
"Has that even happened before?" Tommy asked.
"Well, I've heard stories, but I've never actually witnessed it myself," Esther shrugged.
Shrek then marched over to Princess Fiona and grabbed her hand as he began to haul her out of the room.
"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Princess Fiona demanded. "You know that you should sweep me off my feet out yonder window and down a rope onto your valiant steed."
"You've had a lot of time to plan this, have you?" Shrek marveled in amazement.
Princess Fiona nodded.
Shrek then charged out of the room while still tugging Princess Fiona along by the hand as they raced down the stairs.
"Where are you taking me?" Princess Fiona demanded angrily. "You know, there's a protocol that knights need to follow."
"Yeah, well; didn't exactly work out for them, did it?" Jasmine retorted snidely as she glanced over at an incinerated skeleton of a knight.
"That's not the point!" Princess Fiona scoffed with an exasperated sigh.
Eventually Shrek and the others came to a stop as Shrek started to walk in the opposite direction.
"Where are you going? The exit is over there!" Princess Fiona yelled, pointing in the other direction.
"Well, I have to save my ass," Shrek replied as he turned around.
"What kind of knight are you?" Princess Fiona scoffed at him incredulously, not believing what she was hearing.
"One of a kind," Shrek replied with a salute as he walked out of the hallway.
"Hey, I have an idea; follow me," Doug whispered as he gestured for Julie to follow him.
"I hope you know what the hell you're doing, Doug," Julie hissed back at her husband as they followed after Shrek.
A few minutes later, the trio slowly crept into the lair as they looked over to see the dragon wrapping her tail around Donkey snugly while sitting on a humongous pile of treasure.
"Wow, those are a lot of jewels," Doug murmured in awe.
"You're not thinking of sneaking in to grab some gems, are you, darling?" Julie frowned.
"Maybe a bauble or two for you, my dearest," Doug smiled at her playfully with a flirtatious wink as he then climbed over the banister and carefully jumped off before walking off to where the dragon and Donkey were.
"Look, I believe that it's healthy to get to know someone," Donkey explained as the dragon gazed at him adorningly. "For a long period of time. You just… Call me old fashioned, you know?"
Doug then slowly snuck over towards Donkey and the dragon as he was watching them closely.
"Rushing to a physical relationship… I'm not… Emotionally ready for a… A commitment of this… Magnitude… Really is the word that I'm looking for? Magnitude…" Donkey continued to ramble on.
The dragon then purred at him sweetly before gently caressing him on the head with her finger.
"Hey, that is unwanted physical contact!" Donkey protested with a shake of his head and then he glanced up to see the dragon leaning in towards a chandelier. "Hey, what are you doing?"
The dragon then lit up the chandelier with her flame and then leered over at him with a demure smile as Donkey continued to talk incessantly.
"Okay, okay… We're gonna… Let's just back up a little… And take this one step at a time…"
It was then that Doug cleared his throat and turned to face the pair as he began to sing.
Look at me
I'm as helpless as the kitten up a tree
And I feel like I'm clinging to a cloud
I can't understand
I get misty
Just holding your hand…
"Whoa, my man! What the hell are you doing here?" Donkey balked in surprise, not expecting to hear Doug's voice.
The dragon then stared at Doug with an irritated and annoyed expression as she was trying to figure out what was going on. However, Doug wasn't deterred as he continued to sing on anyway.
Walk my way
And a thousand violins begin to play
Or if it might be the sound of your hello
That music I hear
I get misty
The moment that you're near…
After a few minutes, the dragon turned away from Doug as she refocused her complete attention on Donkey while continuing to flirt with him and lavish him with physical affection.
Meanwhile, Shrek grabbed onto a long chain as he climbed onto it and started swinging over the dragon's head while secretly listening in on Donkey's conversation with the dragon.
"You know, we should really get to know each other first… maybe as friends or as pen pals… Hey, that's my ta… that's my private area…!"
As Donkey continued to attempt to stall and fend off the dragon's romantic advances, Shrek then pulled on the chain as hard as he could and after a few strong tugs, the chain then started to unspool rapidly as it started to roll down to the ground.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Donkey pleaded as he saw that the dragon was about to kiss him.
However, Shrek knocked Donkey out of the dragon's clutches and fell onto the spot where Donkey had been as the dragon accidentally kissed him on his butt. Upon realizing this, the dragon flew into a furious rage as it let out a vicious roar and the chandelier soon falls right onto her as Shrek had let go of the chain.
"Come on, let's go!" Doug yelled as he, Donkey and Shrek made their escape.
The three then raced back up to the balcony and reunited with Julie before taking their leave.
"Come on, darling; we got to go now!" Doug urged her as he grabbed Julie's hand.
The dragon then let out another explosive roar as it released a huge burst of flames at them.
A short time later, they reunited with the rest of the gang as Shrek scooped up Princess Fiona in his right arm and was now carrying her alongside Donkey.
"Hey, Princess!" Donkey greeted her with a smile.
"It talks!" Princess Fiona gasped in amazement.
"Let's get them to shut up, that's the trick!" Shrek barked irascibly.
It was then that the heroes soon came across a broken and cracked pillar and Shrek and Donkey yelled as they turned around and saw that the dragon was closing in on them.
"All right, children; let's all slide down one by one to the bottom. Let's get in line quickly," Rebecca ordered urgently as she had the children stand in a single line formation and they all began to quickly slide down the pillar.
Then as soon as the children made it down to the bottom, the adults quickly followed suit and then Shrek, Princess Fiona and Donkey went after them. However, Shrek hit a hole as he slid down the pillar and he staggered to the bottom with his back throbbing in pain and agony.
"Come on, let's go!" Cassie urged as the gang dashed off towards the exit.
For the next several minutes, the heroes raced through a series of pillars as the dragon continued to chase and hound them throughout the castle while dangling the chandelier from her neck. However, they soon came face to face with the dragon as they took a right turn and they sprinted away from the reptilian monster just as the dragon spewed out a huge blast of flames from her mouth.
Eventually, the heroes made it to the exit as Shrek ushered them away.
"Head off for the exit! I'll take care of the dragon," he vowed as he then took out a sword and plunged it into the chain links.
It was then that time began to slow down as Shrek quickly rejoined the group and they all made a desperate beeline for the exit.
"RUN!" Shrek bellowed.
"Hurry!" Rhonda screamed.
"MEOW!" Taokaka shrieked loudly.
"Get the children to safety now!" Esther ordered.
"All right, Esther," Rebecca nodded as she beckoned for the kids to follow her. "This way!"
It was then that the dragon released a massive spurt of flames as it was spreading throughout the castle and was now inching closer to the bridge. Rebecca then helped the kids scurry to the other side as quickly as possible as the other adults soon followed them.
However, just as Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona made it to the other side, the bridge became completely engulfed in flames as it soon disintegrated and collapsed altogether, causing Donkey to slip and fall. Thankfully, however, Shrek was able to stop his fall by grabbing onto one of his hind hooves just in time. Donkey then yelled out in terror as he saw the dragon advancing closer to them while surrounded by burning flames.
But then just as the dragon was about to take flight, the sword levitated in the air and pulled back on the chain tightly, restraining her. The dragon was then violently jerked back as she let out an angry roar upon realizing that she was completely trapped in the tower. Shrek, Princess Fiona and Donkey then resumed their climb as they soon made it back to safety.
"Now come on; we better leave while there's still a chance," Rebecca urged everyone as everyone soon departed from the area.
The dragon then retreated back to the tower and watched the group leave from a distance as she moaned softly while hanging her head in sorrow. Moments later, however, she soon seized up before collapsing to the ground as she quickly fell unconscious with a small blue tranquilizer dart sticking on her right side.
It was then that a pair of muscular men wielding rifles sauntered up to her with conniving, malevolent grins.
"Those heroes really did us a favor by taking care of that devilish beast," Clayton grinned evilly. "She may prove to be of great use to us yet."
"I agree," Gaston mused with a nod as he then turned to face a group of mechanical barbarians. "Gentlemen, let's load up this dragon into our spaceship and fly back to camp. We need to come up with a new game plan to get Princess Fiona and that Dimensional Stone."
"Yes, sir!" Bladebeak saluted reverently as the mechanical barbarians and Maleficent's minions soon converged around the unconscious dragon and began to carry her out of the burning tower.
"We might need to get out of here before this tower collapses on all of us," Gaston whispered to Clayton.
"I know that, you idiot!" Clayton snapped as he soon turned his attention to his minions. "Let's get moving, gentlemen; we don't have all day!"
"A Dimensional Stone, huh?" Sir Ruber smirked evilly as he happened to overhear their conversation. "Well that might just provide me with a surefire way for me to conquer all of England for myself!"
TLSTLSTLSTLS
A short while later, the gang made it to the cliffs as Princess Fiona slide down the mountain and reached the bottom.
"You guys did it! You rescued me! You're wonderful, you're amazing, you're…!" Princess Fiona cheered with enthusiastic gratitude as Donkey tumbled down to the bottom and Shrek landed on top of him, with the rest of the gang following suit.
Princess Fiona just stared at them quizzically.
"A little unorthodox I'll admit but…"
She then walked over to Shrek as Shrek took off his gauntlets and got up to his feet.
"Thy deed is great and thine heart is pure. I'm eternally in your debt."
Donkey then cleared his throat admonishingly, signaling to Princess Fiona that she also forgot to credit him for his work.
"And where would a brave knight be without his noble steed?" Princess Fiona gushed as she threw her arms around Donkey, hugging him.
"Awww, his noble steed; she thinks that I'm a steed," Donkey blushed timidly.
"Ugh, dear Lord, my back," Esther groaned as she struggled to get up to her feet.
"Where are we?" Tommy frowned.
"Well, hopefully we're as far away from the dragon as possible," said Maxie.
"I sure hope so," Agumon whimpered.
"The battle is won; you may remove your helmet, my good sir knight," Princess Fiona declared.
"Ah, no," Shrek hesitated, stepping away from her.
"Um, why not?" Princess Fiona frowned suspiciously.
"Um… I… I have helmet hair," Shrek stammered, trying his best to stall.
"Please, I would like to look upon the face of my rescuer," Princess Fiona pleaded.
"Oh no you wouldn't," Shrek insisted. "I have dust."
"Then how would you kiss me?" Princess Fiona inquired curiously.
"What? That wasn't in the job description," Shrek balked.
"Yeah, what's that got to do with anything?" Luthor protested.
"Maybe it's a perk," Donkey suggested.
"No, no! It's destiny! Oh you must know how it goes…" Princess Fiona insisted stubbornly.
"Oh, please do enlighten us, Your Highness," Agent Hawthorne yawned in a bored and disinterested tone.
Mariah couldn't help but snicker at his comment.
"A princess locked away in a tower and beset by a dragon is rescued by a brave knight and then they share true love's first kiss," Princess Fiona explained, gesturing over to Shrek.
"I'm sorry? Come again?" Jasmine balked in astonishment.
"Wait, what?" Cassie frowned while tilting her head in confusion.
"True love's first kiss?" B.J. pursued her lips quizzically.
"With Shrek?" Donkey questioned Princess Fiona as he glanced over at Shrek. "Wait, wait… you think that Shrek is your true love?"
"Well… Yes," Princess Fiona answered tentatively.
Donkey, Shrek and the others then looked over at her for a few minutes before they all started to burst out into hysterical laughter.
"Why would a girl like her ever fall in love with someone like him?" Julie snickered quietly as she tried to hold back her laughter.
"How utterly ridiculous," Jasmine giggled softly. "True love doesn't exist; it's just a silly notion."
"What is so funny?" Princess Fiona demanded.
"Let's just say that I'm not your type," Shrek replied.
"Of course you are; you're my rescuer," Princess Fiona shot back. "Now remove your helmet."
"Look, I really don't think this is a good idea," Shrek insisted.
"Just take off your helmet," Princess Fiona wheedled.
"I'm not going to…" Shrek argued.
"Take it off…" Princess Fiona growled, her patience now starting to wear thin.
"No!" Shrek yelled.
"Now!" Princess Fiona snapped back, finally fed up with his antics.
"Okay, easy! As you command, Your Highness," Shrek sighed with a reverent bow as he finally took off his helmet.
The moment that he did so, however, Princess Fiona is stunned and mortified as she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"You're… You're an ogre," she stammered.
"Oh… so you're expecting Prince Charming?" Shrek grinned teasingly.
"Well, yes, actually…" Princess Fiona admitted.
She then cupped her hands on her head as the whole situation began to dawn on her.
"No, no, no… This is all wrong… You're not supposed to be an ogre…"
Shrek then let out an exasperated, irate sigh as he looked at Princess Fiona.
"Princess, I was the one that was sent over by Lord Farquaad to rescue you. Okay, he's the one that wants to marry you."
"Well then why didn't he come rescue me?" Princess Fiona asked.
"That's… a really good question…" Rhonda murmured as she exchanged bewildered glances with Katie, Luthor and Jasmine.
"Good question; you should ask him that when we get there," Shrek answered as he started to walk off.
"But I have to be rescued by my true love!" Princess Fiona pouted angrily. "Not by some ogre and his pet! Not to mention a bunch of super-powered weirdoes from another dimension!"
"Oh… well, excuse me, lady… are we really not THAT good enough for you?" Digit growled indignantly, taking serious affront to Princess Fiona's attitude. "Jeez, talk about ungrateful."
"We risked all of our lives just to save you and your sorry hide, and this is the thanks we get? Seriously?!" Inez seethed, clenching her fists.
"Hey, take it easy, Nezzie," Matt tried to calm down his irate friend as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Don't call me Nezzie!" Inez shrieked at Matt furiously as she pulled away from him with a dirty, withering look.
"Well, so much for noble steed," Donkey scoffed.
"Look princess, you're not making my job any easier," Shrek groaned.
"Well I'm sorry but your job is not my problem," Princess Fiona scoffed as she walked over to a dead, twisted tree branch and sat down it. "You can tell Lord Farquaad that if he wants to rescue me properly, I'll be waiting for him right here!"
"Listen, you snot-nosed, prissy, uptight little bitch…" Jasmine sneered as she stormed over to Princess Fiona. "The entire fate of the Multiverse is hanging in the balance. We are not here just to get the Love Stone; we're also here to rescue you because a group of inter-dimensional bad guys are looking after you and if they find you and capture you, trust me, you do not want to find out what they're going to do to you. What they're ultimately planning for you is more than enough to be the stuff of nightmares."
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to, little lady?" Princess Fiona snarled.
"Little lady? Listen here you miserable little…" Jasmine growled furiously as she rolled up her fists and was prepared to give her a piece of her own mind.
"That's enough, Jasmine!" Esther interjected shrilly as she walked over to Princess Fiona and placed a hand on Jasmine's shoulder. "Look, Your Highness, I understand that this is extremely frustrating but you need to come with us. The sooner we can get you to Duloc, the safer that you'll be and the better that we can protect you against those that wish to harm you."
"Hey, I'm no one's messenger boy, all right?" Shrek growled as he marched up to Princess Fiona aggressively. "I'm a delivery boy."
"You wouldn't dare," Princess Fiona sneered defiantly with narrowed eyes.
Shrek then grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder as he started to walk away.
"Come on, Donkey; let's go," he said as he stormed off.
"All right," Donkey replied as he and the others followed him.
"Put me down right this instant or you will suffer the consequences!" Princess Fiona demanded as she started to bang her fists wildly over Shrek's back. "This is not dignified!"
She then continued to rant and rave incessantly as the heroes journeyed out of the mountains over the next several hours.
"Okay, so here's another question…" Donkey said as he and the others continued their leisurely walk through the forest. "Say there's a woman that digs you, right? But you don't really like her that way. Now how do you let her down real easy so her feelings aren't hurt but you don't get burned to a crisp and eaten? How you do that?"
"Just tell her that she's not your true love. Everyone knows what happens when you find your…"
She is then rudely interrupted when Shrek roughly bumps her on her shoulder to shut her up.
"Hey!" Princess Fiona snapped as she let out an exasperated sigh. "The sooner we get to Duloc, the better."
"So what's the deal with those Dimensional Stones anyway? What's so important about finding them?" Donkey quipped as he glanced over at Rhonda.
"Well these Dimensional Stones are basically the key to help maintain the balance and integrity of the entire Multiverse," Rhonda explained. "The villains that are after them want to use them in order to take over the entire Multiverse and subjugate all of humanity."
"I'm sorry… what does subjugate even mean?" Donkey scrunched up his face quizzically.
"Don't pay any mind to her," Jasmine waved her hand dismissively. "Rhonda has a tendency of using all of those big, fancy words that nobody really understands."
"Oh that's hilarious," Donkey laughed. "Oh, and speaking of Duloc, you're gonna love it. It's beautiful."
"And what about my groom to be Lord Farquaad? What's he like?" Princess Fiona asked.
"Let me put it this way, Princess," Shrek replied as he abruptly dropped her before walking over to a stream. "Men of Farquaad's stature are in short supply."
"Oh no, Shrek; there are those who think little of him," Donkey cackled as Shrek leaned over to splash water on his face and clean it off of dirt.
"Stop it… stop it, the both of you!" Princess Fiona growled as she watched the two men burst out laughing. "You know, you're just jealous that you could never measure up to a great ruler like Lord Farquaad."
"Yeah, well maybe you're right, Princess, but I'll let you do that measuring when you see him tomorrow," Shrek replied as he put "measuring" in air quotes.
"Tomorrow?!" Princess Fiona balked in disbelief as she glanced over at the setting sun behind her. "Tomorrow? It'll take that long? Shouldn't we stop to make camp?"
"No that'll take longer," Shrek replied with Donkey nodding in agreement as the two started to walk away. "We can keep going."
"Well, maybe Princess Fiona's right," Rhonda conceded. "We should probably set up camp for the night. I'm not so sure that I feel comfortable walking through the forest in the dead of night."
"Me too," Maxie whimpered.
"But there's robbers in the woods…" Princess Fiona pointed out.
"Whoa, time out, Shrek; camping's starting to sound good," Donkey suddenly stopped as he looked over at Shrek in terror.
"Hey, come on; I'm scarier than anything we're gonna see in this forest," Shrek scoffed disdainfully with a shrug.
"You really want to take your chances with the Super League of Villains, Shrek? With Organization XIII? With the Syndicate even?" Shirley retorted while crossing her arms sternly with narrowed eyes.
"I don't want to wander out here in the dark with all of the scary animals and bad people wandering about," Lucas whimpered.
Princess Fiona then marched up to Shrek with a furious and irate expression.
"I need to find somewhere to camp NOW!" she exploded.
Shrek and Donkey just exchanged bewildered and frightened glances at each other.
"It's settled then; we're staying here for the night," Andrew nodded as he looked over at B.J.
A short time later, Shrek pushed a large stone out of the way as he was busy creating a makeshift shelter for Princess Fiona.
"So where exactly are we going to sleep?" Cassie asked.
"Don't worry, sweetheart; we have plenty of supplies and sleeping bags for you all," Esther reassured her tenderly.
"Not to mention that I brought some snacks from home," Rebecca proposed while showing them a black backpack and taking out a bag of Cheetos.
"Yummy! Redhead government lady brought chips for Tao, meow!" Taokaka cheered while rubbing her hands excitedly.
"Um, Tao, they're not just for you, you know. They're for all of us too," Yuki admonished her sternly with an akimbo.
"Meow, why does little spiky-haired Japanese girl have to be so mean?" Taokaka pouted while sagging her shoulders and hanging her head sadly.
"Don't worry, Tao; I'll share some stuff with you," Rhonda reassured her calmly with a smile.
"I know that I can always count on you, red shorty, meow!" Taokaka beamed.
"Hey, over here!" Shrek bellowed while gesturing over for Princess Fiona to come over.
"Shrek, we can do better than that," Donkey retorted.
"No, I don't think that this is fit for a princess," Shrek frowned worriedly.
"No, no, it's perfect," Princess Fiona insisted. "It just needs a few homemade touches."
"Homemade touches? Like what?" Shrek reiterated with a raised inquisitive eyebrow as he watched Princess Fiona walk over to a nearby tree.
"What exactly does she mean by that?" Inez frowned quizzically, just as confused.
Princess Fiona then grabbed a large piece of bark from a tree and ripped it off as she carried it over back to the makeshift shelter.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, I bid thee all a good night," she said as she disappeared into the shelter.
"Um, you want me to come in and read you a bedtime story?" Donkey offered.
"I said goodnight!" Princess Fiona yelled as she slammed the small doorway closed and was gone.
Donkey was then mortified when he saw that Shrek was trying to remove a boulder from the makeshift shelter.
"Shrek, what are you doing?"
"You know…" Shrek laughed as he tried to play off the whole thing as a joke, only to notice that Donkey was glaring at him. "Oh, come on; I was just kidding!"
He then walked off as Donkey continued to glare at him angrily.
"That wasn't very funny, you know," Jackie retorted with a shake of her head.
"Okay, everyone; let's get out our sleeping bags and roll them out so that we would be ready for bed. The sun is about to set soon," B.J. hollered while clapping her hands and looking over at the rest of the group.
"You heard the lady; let's go!" Taokaka cheered while jumping up and down excitedly.
Esther and the rest of her team then took out a bunch of dark blue sleeping bags as they set them on the ground and unrolled them.
"If you guys don't mind, I'm going to go out into the woods and get us some firewood," Mitchell offered.
"Hey, why don't I come with you?" Andrew insisted as he walked over to him.
"Thanks, but no thanks, mate; I can take care of myself," Mitchell smiled with a shake of his head as he then took out a Poke Ball and held it out.
"Lucario, go!" he yelled as a red light emitted from the Poke Ball and a blurry figure soon emerged, revealing Lucario.
"Come on, Lucario; let's go," Mitchell beckoned as he soon walked away with Lucario following him deep into the woods.
Andrew then frowned sadly as he watched the pair leave.
"Don't worry; they'll be back," B.J. reassured him with a sweet smile.
"I sure hope so," Andrew sighed as he soon walked away, prompting B.J. to gaze over at him worriedly.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
A few hours later, the fading, pale orange sky turned into a dark blue shade of night as it was illuminated by the bright light of the silvery white moon. The heroes were also sitting around at the campfire as they were munching on some roasted marshmallows.
"Yum! This is so good!" Rhonda beamed with a satisfied grin as she stuffed her mouth full.
"This feels like a real camping trip," Katie replied as she tore off her own piece of roasted marshmallow and chewed on it. "This really takes me back to when I would spend my summers in New York and my parents would take me, Sherry and Kevin out to the Catskills for a couple of weeks so that we can spend some time as a family. And we would have cookouts like this."
"This also reminds me of when I was younger and whenever I would fly over to Los Angeles in the summers and stay at my grandparents' house for the Fourth of July, my grandfather would cook hamburgers and hot dogs on the barbecue grill for the whole family," Rhonda added, chugging on her bottle of Coke.
"What about you, Maxie? What do you guys do?" Yuki asked.
"Well, Georgie and I would often hang out at B.J. and Lucas's place for the Fourth of July with both of our families and we also stay over there a lot too," Maxie replied. "Georgie, B.J. and I are basically the three Musketeers."
"Well, sometimes whenever my parents and I would visit from San Francisco, we would stay over at my Grandma Audrey's house and hang out with the cousins," Tommy interjected while munching on some Fritos.
"Jeannie and I would do the same thing too," Andrew smiled, taking a swig of his Pepsi. "We have made numerous trips to Salem over the years in order to visit our loved ones and we would even sometimes stay over for the Fourth of July holiday. I have especially fond memories of hanging out with my cousin Shawn Douglas while eating hot dogs and playing games at the Brady Pub."
"I remember those moments too," Rhonda mused. "I know that Grandma has told me that sometimes she brings me over to Salem in order to spend some time with John and Marlena's family. And I even remember playing tag and hide and go seek with Jeannie at the Brady Pub too and eating some chowder from her grandmother Caroline."
"Well, I don't really do any camping trips or anything of the sort, but in my family we do have traditional Sunday dinners where my grandmother Lena makes some of her famous delicious Creole cooking," Shirley quipped.
"Yeah, I do like her shrimp and the other seafood that she cooks, but everything else is way too spicy for my taste," Rhonda interjected with an uncomfortable grimace as she started digging into her Lays chips.
"Hey, how do you even know Shirley's grandma?" Luthor frowned quizzically while munching on some Doritos.
"She's married to her grandfather Gregory and she comes over to my house sometimes for dinner," Shirley answered while munching on her roasted marshmallows.
"How come nobody has even told me any of this before?!" Luthor balked in amazement, glancing over at both girls in utter bewilderment and disbelief.
"What about you, Yuki? What do you do with your family?" Mariah asked curiously.
"Well, I like to bake croissants, eclairs and other kinds of baked goods with my mother," Yuki answered pithily. "On Friday nights we also like to sit down together and eat all kinds of sushi and other types of seafood too, including squid and octopus."
"EWWW! That's gross!" Katie grimaced in disgust.
"I also like to practice karate and taekwondo with my older twin sister Akiho and we would often play and goof around together," Yuki added as she sighed and her face fell at the mere mention of her sister.
"We were really close and tight-knit as sisters; sure she would tease me and make fun of me a lot, but it was all in good fun. I don't know what's happening with her. Ever since we moved to London from Paris, she's become really distant and I don't know why. My dad's starting to act really weird too and he's been spending a lot of time away from home. Even my mom has no idea why he's been gone a lot lately."
"So what about you, Mitchell? Did you ever do anything fun with your family?" Rhonda quickly asked, wanting to change the subject.
"I don't have a family," Mitchell answered dryly as he was busy roasting a marshmallow.
"What? What do you mean?" Rhonda frowned quizzically with a confused expression.
"It means that I'm an orphan," Mitchell answered, taking the marshmallow out of the flame as he blew on it. "When I was about 11, my parents were killed and I was basically forced to live out on the streets."
"Why were you forced to live out on the streets? Didn't you have anybody in your family that was willing and available to take care of you?" Rhonda continued to question him with a puzzled look on her face.
Mitchell just burst out laughing hysterically while shaking his head incredulously as he looked over at Rhonda with a mocking, derisive grin.
"You sweet, naïve, innocent child. My family didn't even want me around; as a matter of fact, they were more than happy to get rid of me," he growled bitterly, examining the marshmallow closely.
"I spent the next five years of my life fending for myself, stealing whatever I possibly could just to survive. I even committed a few petty crimes here and there just to support myself. It wasn't until I joined the British armed forces at 16 that I felt like I finally found my purpose."
"I aced through basic training and I became so good at what I did that the government eventually took notice and assigned me to an elite Royal Marines unit. After a couple of years, I have now officially reached the rank of Second Lieutenant and I'm also serving as a liaison agent for the IDA and other federal government agencies around the globe on behalf of the Royal Marines."
"Wow, that sounds really cool," Rhonda murmured in awe.
"Yeah, that sounds really amazing," Jasmine beamed, also impressed by what she heard.
"Finish up, everyone; it's getting late and we all need to hit the hay," Julie announced.
"Okay, Julie," Inez replied.
The kids then handed all of their remaining unopened snacks to the adults before they crawled into their designated sleeping bags and settled in. Cassie then rolled over onto her right side as she looked over at Julie.
"Julie, can you read us all a bedtime story?" she whispered.
"I have a better idea, children; why don't I sing you all a song to sleep?" Doug offered.
"Okay," Mariah yawned deeply as she snuggled deeply into her sleeping bag, closing her eyes.
Doug then looked over at the children as he began to sing.
Look at me
I'm as helpless as the kitten up a tree
And I feel like I'm clinging to a cloud
I can't understand
I get misty
Just holding your hand…
As Doug was singing, Maleficent and Hades were snuggling together and sharing a kiss while sitting in front of their own campfire. Jeannie and Riku were also eating roasted marshmallows together while sharing a laugh and tossing some of the marshmallows at each other.
Walk my way
And a thousand violins begin to play
Or if it might be the sound of your hello
That music I hear
I get misty
The moment that you're near…
Jeannie then smiled at Riku sweetly as she leaned her head against his shoulder and glanced up at him, her smile brightening. Riku then averted his glance and pulled away from her awkwardly, not sure how to respond.
"What's wrong, Riku?" Jeannie asked with a perturbed and concerned frown.
"Look, kid, I think I'm kind of old for you…" he stammered hesitantly.
"Why is that Riku?" Jeannie pouted petulantly, not understanding what he was saying. "I like you; I mean… really like you… why don't you like me too?"
"Because you're just a child, Jeannie; for God's sake, you're only 11. I'm 15. It's not you; there's nothing wrong with you. You're just too young for me," Riku insisted.
"You don't like me; you don't think that I'm pretty enough," Jeannie sniffled as tears welled up in her eyes.
"No, no, Jeannie… That's not true…" Riku shook his head vehemently as he grabbed Jeannie and pulled her into his arms, holding her. "That's not true at all. You are pretty enough; you just need to wait until you're old enough to start worrying about guys. You still have plenty of time yet. Trust me, one day you're going to find a very special guy who's going to love you for you no matter what."
"Really?" Jeannie sniffled, gazing up at Riku with tears streaming down her face.
"Really," Riku nodded as he gave her a loving squeeze while peering at her. "I love you."
"I love you too," Jeannie whispered with a soft smile as she returned his gaze and buried her face into his shoulder.
However, unbeknownst to them, Akiho was watching their interaction secretly from behind some bushes as she was seething and scowling with blind rage.
"She thinks that she can just take him away from me?" she growled. "I'm going to teach that little bitch a lesson that she won't soon forget!"
By the time that Doug finally finished singing, however, everyone had fallen fast asleep as they were lying snugly and peacefully in their sleeping bags.
He then turned to face Julie as he caressed her tenderly in the face.
"Good night, love," he said.
"Good night to you too, darling," Julie smiled back as the two shared a tender and sweet kiss.
And as the moon continued to shine brightly on the woods, Hades and Maleficent disappeared into their tent in order to spend some private time together. And with that, a blanket of tranquil and peaceful silence settled over the area as everything went quiet.